Federer’s Tuneup for Paris Ends Stunningly Early

An improbable stab forehand cut short Roger Federer’s French Open preparations, as 47th-ranked Jérémy Chardy sprinted across the court Wednesday to run him out of the Italian Open in the second round.

At 6-5 in the third-set tiebreaker, Federer hit a second serve for which Chardy stepped around his backhand to hit a forehand return, putting himself into the doubles alley. Federer appeared to have the point and the match with a forehand into the opposite corner, but Chardy scrambled across the court and hit a forehand crosscourt past an outstretched Federer, stunning not only the crowd but both players.

Two points later, Chardy had won the match, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6), only his second victory over a top-five opponent in 20 attempts. It was the first time Federer, who had a bye in the first round, had lost his opening match at a Masters 1000 event since 2010, also in Rome. Federer has not won the Italian Open in 14 tries, the most appearances he has made at any event without capturing a title.

This match will stand as Federer’s only one in the five weeks leading to the French Open, which begins May 25. He took two weeks off after reaching the final in Monte Carlo, and then withdrew from Madrid last week because of the imminent birth of his twin sons, Leo and Lenny.

Federer had to battle not only Chardy, a lanky, powerful Frenchman who had pushed him to three sets in Brisbane, Australia, in January, but also swirling wind that tossed clay dust into the air like a sandstorm.

“It makes it difficult to have a proper game plan or execute the way you want,” Federer said of the wind. “You’re going to not take so much risk and you’re putting more shots, just trying to put them in play, rather than trying to really go for it.”

Federer will rejoin his family and prepare for the French Open, which has been the least fruitful of the four Grand Slams for him.

“Practice has been really good the past few weeks, even though I did have family, so now I’ve just got to see how I’ll handle the preparation leading into Paris,” he said. “But everything is under control, and I still feel good. My body is good, my mind is good, and it’s just unfortunate that for one passing shot today, I don’t get another opportunity to play this week.”

Federer said that experience would help him to put the loss in perspective.

“This one is totally O.K. if it doesn’t hurt,” he said. “I tried everything. I can’t do more than that on the courts.”

NEW U.S.T.A. FACILITY The United States Tennis Association is building its dreamed-of, year-round tennis development center in Lake Nona, Fla., outside Orlando, officials announced. The 63-acre complex will include more than 100 courts of different surfaces and will be the base of the organization’s player development program and its community tennis division.

The U.S.T.A. chose the site because of significant financial incentives from local groups and government, easy access to an international airport and the chance to consolidate so much of its mission. The organization’s main headquarters will remain in White Plains, but about 150 jobs will relocate to the new site, officials said. Those employees would move from New York; the U.S.T.A. facility in Carson, Calif.; and the current player development program in Boca Raton, Fla.

“This is a game changer for us,” said Gordon Smith, the U.S.T.A.’s executive director. “This is much broader than just player development. This is about our mission to promote tennis. We can bring people together not just for training but for tournaments and leagues.”

According to Dave Haggerty, the chairman of the U.S.T.A., the facility will cost $60 million to build. The organization was given a long-term lease on the land for a nominal cost — “essentially free,” Haggerty said — as well as tax incentives from local government, grants from the state of Florida and a sponsorship deal with Visit Orlando. Construction will begin in the fall and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016.

The most significant change will be relocating the player development program from its current home at the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton. Patrick McEnroe, who runs player development for the U.S.T.A., said that the relationship with the Evert Academy, which began in 2007, was good, but that the program needed more room.

McEnroe said the hope was for young players to train at the new center beside established professionals, bringing their own coaches as well as having access to an expanded U.S.T.A. coaching staff.

“We will be doing the same job, but this will enable us to do that job a lot better,” McEnroe said. “Having people come and watch young players training with our best pros, that should inspire more people to get into the game.”

There will be green clay courts, red clay courts and hardcourts but no grass courts, McEnroe said, because it is difficult to maintain grass courts that are anywhere near the quality of those at Wimbledon.

The complex will also become the competition courts for the University of Central Florida, and Haggerty said he could envision it hosting bigger college events in the future. LYNN ZINSER

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B18 of the New York edition with the headline: Federer’s Tuneup for French Open Ends Stunningly Early. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe